Tunnelling Trenchless Technology in United Kingdom

The word tunnelling evokes images of various kinds and is particularly evocative of the fictional world of children's literature. It has a generic link to Kenneth Grahame's “ The Wind in the Willows” depicting a scene where the Wild Wood invaders, Mr Weasel and his friends, are ejected from Toad Hall, the former residence of Mr Toad. Mr Badger and Mole achieve the surprise attack with access to Toad Hall via a secret tunnel. These anthromorphisised animal characters living in a pastoral version of England provide a virtual alternative world where tunnelling becomes the underground highway for the denouement of the story plot. It creates an imaginary other world where animals are endowed with human attributes reflecting a kaleidoscope of human traits and emotions ordinarily experienced in the real world. We can clearly visualise Mole moving secretively along his underground network of Tunnels – his highway from one scene to the next – as he develops his social skills through meeting and communicating with his friends Ratty, Toad and Badger. Amidst the generated emotions of fear, nostalgia, elation and friendship tunnelling acts as an emotional conduit leading from one to the other by means of episodes and adventures throughout the tale of “The Wind in the Willows”. The description of the tale being both slow moving and fast paced describes perfectly the whole aspect of tunnels and tunnelling. The production phase can be slow moving but the tunnelling completion can lead to increased faster traffic, either virtual or real. Reflecting on other children's literature such as Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit conjures up images of rabbit burrows and tunnelling in a humanised world of rabbit family life.

Tunnelling always suggests mystery and suspense and in children's stories it creates a sense of parallel existence where animals can act out human story lines in an animal environment. Children's imaginations are fired through the creative imagery evoked by human interest stories involving anthropomorphisised animal characters. The innocence of a child's world is protected by interactive animal characters who portray human attributes and characteristics in a childish way. Mischief and conflict resolution in this animal kingdom environment assumes less frightening emotions and allows the catharsis of story plots without undue anxiety, fear or trepidation being experienced by children who read the tale.

Tunnelling is a concept also associated with Lewis Carroll's “ Alice in Wonderland”. The story begins with Alice following a passing rabbit dressed in white with a pocket watch. On reaching the rabbit burrow she falls uncontrollably down a tunnel or shaft into a hall. This tale is well known by children who make the adventurous journey with Alice through a nonsensical world of illusion where nothing makes sense and where the animal characters are totally absurd. On a real level the protagonists are allusions to real life characters from the authors locality and the numbers madness is an allusion to mathematical concepts that were controversial at the time of publication.